The Collegian

Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Andrew Dodson Junior Aaron Falk is one of many Hillsdale student who have signed up fo rthe Marines. The Marine recuiters visit campus every two weeks to talk with potential officers.

Marine Capt. Elliot Peterson looks for the best of the best. A recruiter for the Marine Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va., Peterson visits Hillsdale College every two weeks looking for potential candidates. So far this year, seven Hillsdale students have signed up.

"Hillsdale has a high recruitment rate, especially given its size," Peterson said. "We Marines have relatively high standards and we have found that Hillsdale students are often very qualified."

Sophomore Kamil Stasiulewicz is one of those students. The grandson of a Korean War veteran, Stasiulewicz said the OCS offers aspiring Marines like himself the chance of proving their mettle and earning an early commission as a second lieutenant.

"You go to the OCS to have your academic and leadership potential tested," Stasiulewicz said. "It really pushes you as a person."

Peterson said that the program runs during the summer and that the length of a student's stint in the program depends on his age. Freshmen and sophomores attend the OCS during two separate summers, each lasting six weeks. Juniors and seniors, meanwhile, attend during a single ten-week period during one summer.

Students who signed up this year are freshmen Michael Marsh and Stephen Sutherland, sophomores Brian Steadman and Kamil Stasiulewicz, juniors Michael Black and Doug Cook, and senior Jack Shannon.

Peterson said potential OCS candidates become eligible once they attend college, but they must complete their schooling to be eligible for the completed OCS program's benefits.

At the school, potential officers take classes and enter intense physical conditioning regimens, Elliott said.

He said enrollees must be capable of running three miles in 18 minutes, performing 20 pull-ups, and executing 100 sit-ups in 2 minutes. They must also attend classes at the program's Quantico, Va., campus.

The military pays for part of students' college tuition and offers them second lieutenant commissions after they graduate. Peterson said this last reward is particularly important - being a Marine officer is a big deal.

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